urn:taro:utexas.cah.01734A Guide to the John Forbes Papers, 1835-1861Original EAD encoding by Megan Mummey according to TARO 2 EAD 2002 Editing
Instructions. July 2010Finding aid written in English.
Descriptive Summary
Forbes, JohnForbes, John, Papers1835-1861Materials are written in English.1 volume Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The
University of Texas at AustinTypescript copies of correspondence, legal charges, and commissary accounts comprise
the John Forbes Papers, 1835-1861, and document Forbes’ career as a soldier and
commissary general of the Texas army.
Biographical Note

Scottish-born, John Forbes (1797-1880), Texas soldier, lawyer, and judge, immigrated
to Cincinnati, Ohio, from England in 1817. After marrying Emily Sophia Sisson,
Forbes moved to Nacogdoches, Texas, in 1835. At first, Forbes served as chairman of
the Committee on Vigilance and Public Safety, but in November 1835 he was elected
first Judge of the Nacogdoches Municipality. By December, provisional governor Henry
Smith and the Consultation appointed Forbes, John Cameron, and General Sam Houston
as commissioners to negotiate a treaty with nearby Cherokees. The commission managed
to secure a treaty of complete neutrality from the Cherokee after a three-day
meeting. Forbes then joined the Texas army as a major and aide-de-camp to Sam
Houston and served as commissary general during the Anahuac campaign and the battle
of San Jacinto.

In 1859, Forbes filed a civil suit in the Nacogdoches court against Nicholas Labadie
for libel. Labadie, in his reminiscences, claimed that during the Texas Revolution
Forbes murdered several Mexican women, took prisoners without justification, and
stole a gold snuffbox from a dead Mexican officer after the battle of San Jacinto.
The suit remained active until 1867, when Forbes won and had his reputation
restored.

Following the revolution, Forbes returned to Nacogdoches and served as principal
judge of the Nacogdoches municipality. Forbes also served as mayor of Nacogdoches in
1856 and as a Lieutenant Colonel on Richard Coke’s staff in 1876. Forbes died in
1880 in Nacogdoches.

Typescript copies of correspondence, legal charges, and commissary accounts comprise
the John Forbes Papers, 1835-1861, and document Forbes’ career as a soldier and
commissary general of the Texas army. The papers also concern Forbes’ dispute with
and libel suit against Nicholas Labadie, relating to Labadie’s reminiscences
published in the Texas Almanac.

John Forbes Papers, 1835-1861, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of
Texas at Austin.

Related Material

See also the John Forbes vs. Nicholas D. Labadie Transcript

Processing Information

Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the
National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe
Center’s “History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project,” 2009-2011.